Improvement in verbal memory performance in depressed in-patients after treatment with electroconvulsive therapy
Objective Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is a highly effective and well-tolerated therapy for severe and treatment-resistant depression. Cognitive side-effects are still feared by some patients and clinicians. Importantly, cognitive impairments are among the most disabling symptoms of depression it...
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| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article (Journal) |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
23 September 2016
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| In: |
Acta psychiatrica Scandinavica
Year: 2016, Volume: 134, Issue: 6, Pages: 461-468 |
| ISSN: | 1600-0447 |
| DOI: | 10.1111/acps.12652 |
| Online Access: | Verlag, Volltext: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/acps.12652 Verlag, Volltext: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/acps.12652 
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| Author Notes: | S. V. Biedermann, J. M. Bumb, T. Demirakca, G. Ende, A. Sartorius |
| Summary: | Objective Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is a highly effective and well-tolerated therapy for severe and treatment-resistant depression. Cognitive side-effects are still feared by some patients and clinicians. Importantly, cognitive impairments are among the most disabling symptoms of depression itself. Methods Patients suffering from a severe episode of depression were treated with either ECT or treatment as usual (TAU) in an in-patient setting. Matched healthy participants served as controls (HC). Verbal memory was tested with the California Verbal Learning Test (CVLT) before the specific treatment started (ECT = 15, TAU = 16, HC = 31) and 2 months after the last ECT session or 2 months after discharge respectively. Results Before the specific treatment started, depressed patients performed substantially worse compared with HC in total, short- and long-delay recall in the CVLT, while the ECT group showed the worst performance. More severely depressed patients showed worse performances in these measures. Intriguingly, verbal memory showed a significant improvement in ECT-treated patients, but not in the other groups. No differences between the groups were found at follow-up. Conclusion Contrary to the widely feared assumption that ECT has long-term impact on memory functions, we found evidence that ECT is superior to TAU in improving verbal memory in depressed patients. |
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| Item Description: | Gesehen am 26.02.2019 |
| Physical Description: | Online Resource |
| ISSN: | 1600-0447 |
| DOI: | 10.1111/acps.12652 |